MapJack Leaves Google Lost

Google Street View is one of the coolest mapping applications on the web, but a new street level mapping site is giving Google some stiff competition.

MapJack offers a lot more details and is so much easier to use; there's less frustration to allow more fun in your virtual touring. Your cartoon tour guide, Jack, takes you through the city in a split screen mode. At the bottom of the screen you'll see a satellite map of the city, and at the top, you see real life photographs of that place.

All you have to do to explore is drag jack around the map, and the photography is updated right in front of you, as if you were really wandering/scooting/driving down the streets! The images are so crisp, it's unreal! You can zoom in for intricate details... you can even read what bumper stickers say and check out the posters and signs around town. What a way to look at real life ad campaigns! Once you're tired of the city and have found a place to eat your virtual lunch, you can take a tour through the park, and yes, even check out the details on the flowers!

"What others have done with NASA budgets and Star Wars-like equipment, we've done on a shoestring budget, along with a few trips to Radio Shack," MapJack describes the site.

Right now, it's still only available for San Francisco (where the company is based) and Chiang Mai, Thailand.